turning off automatically

[jayy.cfg]

basically when my pc loads a game like css (pc game) or reading a disc or writing files to a USB stick the tower is just switching off. my guess is the PSU had it for a few years now, b4 this started to happen now and again it was taking a few times for the windows to boot up as it was getting stuck so i fort it wud be a hdd problem but now trying to reinstall windows it just cuts off. my guess its a psu but wanting your opinions if u no ur pc stuff.

[Ash-Lee]

Does it restart or just turn off alltogether?

If it just turns off i would say PSU. If you go into the BIOS there should be a section with temperatures and voltages. Make sure there all close to what they should be.

If it's Windows XP onwards (which i guess it will be) and it just restarts randomly then untick the 'automatic restart' in system properties. That way when it crashes you should get a blue screen with some indication of what caused the problem.

[jayy.cfg]

it doesnt automatically restart, it just switches off. have looked in bios temps and all temps are low around 20-30 degrees. so in my opinion of knowledge that i have computers that i picked up myself it is the psu, fans are all workin watched them. gfx isnt hot nor hdd so i know there not overheating at all

[Ash-Lee]

Is there a section in the BIOS showing voltages?

[jayy.cfg]

yeah i think it did it showd the volts and the fan temps.

[jayy.cfg]

problem solved, had found out the next day after finkin it was xp itself then finking it was the PSU it turns out it was a faulty PSU Cable, but before finding this out i sent un-needed money on a new 550w PSU but lucky it come to hand as my lil brothers pc was running after he raged and kicked it so i used the new PSU and as a delight i got it working so 2day all in all have had a good day, all parts for my car arrived n fixed all pcs that was needed work on.

[Ash-Lee]

Nice one.

Computers can be just as frustrating as cars sometimes.

[jayy.cfg]

yeah i know ive bin building n fixing them since i was like 15. nt the best but as u know wi everything u do u learn from experience

[jayy.cfg]

false alarm, its doing it again, its an overheating problem but nt sure wat everything seems cool except the GFX which is quite hot, so thats my guess reli. was wondering so i can double check this any1 know of a free program that can check my gfx temp would like to see how hot it is running

[Ash-Lee]

What graphics card is it? Usually NVidia and ATi cards have temperture monitors included in there software.

Speedfan will pick up the graphics card temperature sensor and i *think* GPU-Z will as well.

http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php

http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/

If you do find you need a new cooler then i recommend Zalman products, quiet and very good at cooling.

[jayy.cfg]

i had a 7950 GTO OC Silent. im currently using onboard gfx and it hasnt gone off yet which im happy to say it was, the gfx when i touched it was quite hot and everything else was cool